Tuesday, January 18, 2011

So, prior to a suggestion to follow Tampa Breeze player Carie Small on Twitter, I had never heard of the Lingerie Football League. I had planned to do a whole thing about the exploitative vs empowerment thing. Compare the LFL to roller derby. Question why female athletes are not allowed to be sexy... You can see where I am going, I think. The whole thing is far more to tackle than I have time, or will to write. I am not going for a masters in women's studies. Therefore, I decided to watch a game and do a review.

First, let me remind you; I am a nerd. As such, I am not a football fan. I find a fascination with football to be both un-nerd-like, and frankly homoerotic. Not judging you football fans (oh, and "Go Saints" or something).

The LFL is broadcast on MTV2 as Friday Night Football, and the installment I saw, at least, is not broadcast live. This is the strength of it. It is ADHD football. They don't sit through timeouts, or injuries, or penalty decisions. Hell, they don't even show you all the downs. Nothing happened on 2nd and 9? Don't show it. Basically you are watching twenty minutes of highlights, which for me is perfect.

The bad part is, it is just a little douchey. Not so much the players, though they are not opposed to standard male douche-bag posturing, but more in the fans and the production. The outfits are a little silly. Shorts and shirts are fine for arena football, if you ask me. That's all rugby players wear, and that is a brutal sport. I think the lingerie aspect really hurts them, not from an athleticism stance, but from a female acceptance stance. I doubt many women want to watch this, though if it were dressed up differently they might. Think of it this way. If I bring a woman chicken wings in a plain container and they are good, they are good. If I later take her for those same wings at Hooters, it is a whole other story. Of course, some women like Hooters. Some men don't. I think the lingerie aspect casts an unnecessary pall over the sport. They are really playing, from what I can tell. There are varying degrees of skill, and I'm sure because they have to be hot that there are plenty of gym rats on teams who are not so team sports inclined, but they fill out the outfit. You can kind of tell when you watch it. There are some really awesome players, and then some real high school looking stuff. I am not trying to disparage them, it is a product of limited team sports opportunities for young women in school. Here is a short highlight reel of the Tampa Breeze and Chicago Bliss:

Ultimately, I am not sure what to say. Give it a watch sometime, or just check out Youtube. Your thoughts are welcome, as always.